| Local News |
june-july, 2020 | The Health
05
No private hospital
is above the law
Both the Federation of Malaysian Consumers
Associations (Fomca) and the Domestic Trade
and Consumer Affairs Ministry agree that no
one can profiteer by raising the prices of face
masks.
The Price Control and Anti-Profiteering
Act of 2011 stipulated that anyone selling or
providing price-controlled goods or services
such as face masks had to follow the gazetted
rule.
“No one is above the law, not even private
hospitals,” said Fomca president Datuk Dr
Marimuthu Nadason, who referred to a private
hospital which was compounded RM200,000
for charging RM11.20 for a single three-ply face
mask, which has a ceiling price of RM1.50 a
piece.
“They can claim that their way of doing
business is different, but this is a law passed
by Parliament, and if an exemption is made for
them, especially during a time where there is a
dire need for face masks, it will be a joke.”
The private hospital was compounded after
a father of a patient took to social media to
complain that he was billed RM201.60 for 18
face masks used by hospital workers treating
his daughter.
The ministry’s Enforcement Director,
Datuk Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, said that the
compound was issued under Section 11 of the
Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act of 2011.
“The law clearly states that action can be
taken against those who flout it. They were
Malaysia’s critical digital initiatives in
combating the spread of Covid-19 was shared
with ASEAN member countries and China at
the online opening ceremony of ASEAN-China
Year of Digital Economy Cooperation on June
12.
Deputy Communications and Multimedia
Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin
presented the initiatives via teleconferencing
with the online forum on the development
of e-Covid-19, a dedicated platform to collect
information about Covid-19 patients, to assist
the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre
(CPRC) and ease the load of frontliners.
“We (Malaysia) look forward to greater
collaboration and cooperation between
ASEAN and China to share best practices and
to support one another as we combat the
pandemic and accelerate the digital economy
post-Covid 19,” he said.
Zahidi also shared with the forum on the
MySejahtera app, which enables users to
make self-assessments on their health, locate
nearby testing hospitals and clinics, as well
as get information on what to do if they are
suspected of having Covid-19 and where to get
treatment.
Also shared was the development of the
DoctorOnCall platform, Malaysia’s online
medical video-consultation platform.
It combines advanced video and voice
technologies with the experience of
Malaysia’s top doctors.
charging for the use of the mask in their bill.
It doesn’t matter who you are — trader or
private hospital — you have to abide by the
price control rules and not charge more than
the maximum or ceiling price of the controlled
items.”
He said the private hospital could choose
to pay the compound or be taken to court for
the offence. He also urged those with similar
issues with profiteering to contact any of the
ministry’s hotlines, or portals and provide full
details of the purchase in the report. — The
Health
Malaysia shares key digital
efforts in combating Covid-19
with Asean, China
There is also contact-tracing mobile
application, Gerak Malaysia, to allow
enforcement authorities to give permission
and monitor those who need to travel
interstate.
“The (Malaysian) government countered
fake news and allegations regarding Covid-19
through the Sebenarnya.my website and
application,” said Zahidi.
He added Malaysia’s National Security
Council, on the other hand, disseminated
essential information, the dos and don’ts, and
safety reminders to all mobile subscribers via
short message service (SMS).
Zahidi also told the online forum that
Malaysian telecommunication companies had
also provided additional 1GB of free data daily
to all mobile internet subscribers between 8
am and 6 pm to ensure that the public could
access the latest information on the Covid-19
situation.
He also shared with the forum on the
National Economic Recovery Plan or PENJANA,
which among the objectives was to stimulate
business and people’s economy, which include
initiatives to boost digital business.
Other actions taken by Malaysia include
digital skills development, helping micro
small and medium enterprises migrating to
online business platform, intensifying the
use of cashless payment systems and delivery
of government services through online
platforms, he said. — The Health
Briefs
Higher FDI’s in health activities.
Malaysia received RM31.7 billion in foreign direct
investment (FDI) last year, an increase of 3.1 per cent
from RM30.7 billion in 2018, said the Department of
Statistics Malaysia (DoSM)
The higher FDI was mainly due to the injection of
equity from Japan to Malaysia in health activities.
At the same time, the foreign inflows were primarily
channeled into the services sector, particularly in
health, real estate and financial operations. Major
contributors by the country for FDI flows in 2019 were
Japan, Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin
said the encouraging performances of both FDI and
DIA showed the favourable economic situation in the
country.
He noted industries such as healthcare,
pharmaceutical, medical and activities related
to e-commerce have the opportunity to expand
their business. However, the continuous focus on
enhancing the manufacturing sector will widen the
spillover effect on the domestic economy.
Blood donors are national heroes
Blood donors are also national heroes because they
voluntarily donate blood to meet the needs of others
and save lives, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin said in a video message via his Facebook page
on June 14.
He said the donors had come forward sacrificing
their time and energy, to donate blood during the
Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) in the
fight against Covid-19.
This year, the national level Blood Donor Day,
themed ‘Safe Blood Saves Lives‘ and ‘Donate Blood
for Global Health’, focuses on every blood donor’s
contribution in helping to save the lives of patients and
in turn build healthier communities.
Muhyiddin said as the country entered the Covid-19
recovery phase, the new normal of life would have to
continue as we celebrate Blood Donor Day this year.
NCIA resumes full operations
following RMCO
The Northern Corridor Implementation
Authority (NCIA) has resumed full operations at its
headquarters at the Penang Science Park and offices
in AlorSetar, Kangar, Ipoh and Cyberjaya, following
the commencement of the Recovery Movement
Control Order (RMCO).
NCIA in a statement said this move would allow
it to mobilise the National Economic Recovery Plan
(PENJANA) rolled out by the Prime Minister to
empower people, propel businesses and stimulate the
economy.
NCIA said it was fully committed to mitigating the
impact of the Covid-19 outbreak to ensure that the
rakyat, businesses and industries in the Northern
Corridor Economic Region (NCER) remained resilient
and robust in the face of current economic challenges.
Covid-19 workforce
screening one-stop portal
MYEG Services Bhd (MYEG) announced a onestop
portal for employers in Malaysia to manage
the requirements related to the screening of their
workforce for the Covid-19 virus.
Employees who are registered contributors to the
Social Security Organisation (“Socso”), including
foreign workers, are eligible to have the cost of testing
covered by Socso’s Prihatin Screening Programme.
This initiative is supported by the Minister of
Human Resources Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, in
which this one-stop portal will facilitate the
screening of workers and break the chain of Covid-19
transmission.
MYEG’s portal is an option for companies that
wish to streamline the process of getting workers
tested, providing employers with the necessary
tools to register and receive confirmation of the
eligibility of their workforce for the Prihatin Screening
Programme. — The Health